Infiltrating the righteous path? Just another place to be a sycophant.

"Please, Your Majesty, give me some food."

"Hmph, you old man, you still want to eat? Here, this is a meat bone, go ahead and eat it."

The disciple threw the clean bone off the table, spitting out a couple of mouthfuls of saliva as he did so, but the old man simply swallowed and began to eat.

For some reason, Lu An felt that the old man looked somewhat familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

"Someone, feed them!"

The disciple shouted, and each of his imperial guards led out a dog, which was actually a person.

They were all naked, wearing only the most basic undergarments. At the disciple's command, plates of food mixed with countless scraps were poured in front of them.

"My royal brothers, please enjoy your meal!"

After the disciple finished speaking, the others began to eat voraciously, leaving Lu An stunned.

What kind of twisted dream is this? Is this guy out of his mind?

"This old man is the emperor of the Tian Sheng Martial Dynasty. He rarely shows his face. I have seen him a few times, but I never expected to see him in this disciple's dream, especially in this kind of situation."

"Oh, what's going on?"

"This disciple is the twenty-seventh prince of the Tian Sheng Martial Dynasty, and he is born out of wedlock, meaning he has no official position. So it's normal that his dream is to trample his father, Emperor Wu Yan, underfoot."

"And that row of people tied up like dogs, they are his brothers. I've met some of them before, and they seem quite funny now."

Yu Wanqing said with a smile.

Lu An was speechless. He hadn't expected that there would be royal family members seeking refuge here. But thinking about it, it made sense. These royal family members were supposed to be the emperor's sons, but their mothers had no power or influence, and they had so many older brothers. How could they possibly stand out?

But how much oppression must he have suffered to make such a connection to a fantasy?

"If someone like that were to join the Yuan Tian Holy Sect, wouldn't that be..."

"It's nothing. It's just desire, an illusion formed by desire. No matter what kind of illusion it is, as long as he can see through it and get out of it, he can pass the test."

"As for the content of the illusion, that's harmless. Even if it's an illusion to save the world, if you can't see through it, then you deserve to be eliminated."

What a great theory that it doesn't matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat!

"By the way, the concubine in his arms is the current empress, who is also his father's woman, and the one next to her is his sister."

Yu Wanqing dropped another bombshell.

"Hahaha, my beloved concubine, give me a kiss, hahaha! No, no, no, we'll do it in front of everyone, for this old man to see, hahaha!"

"Oh dear, Your Majesty, how embarrassing! This is still in the imperial court!"

"So what? I am the Emperor! The ruler of all under Heaven. If I want to be, who can disobey me!?"

Seeing that the bizarre dream was getting more and more outrageous, Lu An quickly switched to another one.

Stay away from this kind of pervert.

So Lu An changed his identity again, and this person was the so-called top-grade sword spirit root, Xiao Yun.

Upon entering the dream, Lu An saw a figure kneeling on the ground. The figure was very familiar, and when the camera switched, Lu An saw the figure's appearance.

It turned out to be Guo Fengyi.

"Hahaha, Guo Fengyi, I see you're nothing special! Do you admit defeat or not?"

"I...I admit defeat. I was simply outmatched! I overestimated myself and was wrong, Young Master Xiao!"

Chapter 212 The Current Employment Environment is Grim

In the illusion, Xiao Yun stood tall and proud. Besides Guo Fengyi kneeling in front of him, there was a group of people behind Guo Fengyi.

Their clothing varied, and it seemed that they weren't just from the Yuantian Holy Sect. Based on Lu An's limited knowledge, he could tell that some of them came from the Zhentian Holy Sect, some from the Taiqing Holy Sect, and some were even wearing the clothes of demonic cultivators.

They all knelt on the ground, heads bowed, as if worshipping him.

He even seemed to see figures that resembled himself, including those of the sect's elders.

Is this person really that ambitious? What kind of bizarre dream is this? Could it be another one of those delusions about becoming an emperor and unifying the world?

What are these people thinking?

At this moment, Lu An also saw a huge stone monument standing behind him.

The words "Xiao Yun, the Number One Sword God of Our Time" are engraved on the giant stone tablet.

Damn, this is so cringeworthy! How embarrassing! Does this person have no shame? Creating such a spectacle in a dream world?

"Remember this, I am the number one sword god! Even after ascension, I will still be the number one sword god in the immortal realm!"

Xiao Yun laughed heartily, his arrogant aura was quite evident.

As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of seven-colored light shone down from the sky. Above that light, a group of people, seemingly ethereal and otherworldly, were riding on auspicious seven-colored clouds.

"Xiao Yun, congratulations on your cultivation to immortality and your ascension to the celestial path. I now bestow upon you the title of Sword Immortal of the Upper Realm, which you will receive upon your ascension. Are you willing?"

"Hahaha, I knew it! I'm willing, of course I'm willing!"

As soon as Xiao Yun finished speaking, a surge of immortal power erupted from his body, followed by beams of golden light. The spiritual power within him transformed into a force that Lu An had never seen before.

That power was stronger and more mysterious than spiritual power. Even though it was an illusion, and he was observing the illusion through a token, he seemed to have a sense of being able to comprehend the Dao of Heaven.

"You can have some experiences through the token. Just hold it in your hand. The feeling is not much different from being in a real illusion."

Yu Wanqing seemed to understand Lu An's thoughts and offered a timely explanation from the side.

Within the token, Xiao Yun's body began to transform. His original mortal form began to disappear, and beams of bright golden light began to cover his body. It was as if he had undergone a complete rebirth.

A tingling, numb sensation—it was so wonderful, as if my entire body and soul were being cleansed by a strange power.

"This guy really dares to dream. He just ascended in the illusion, yet he was already given the title of Sword Immortal by people from the upper realm. It seems he only wants great fame and success. His character isn't very good."

Yu Wanqing also watched Xiao Yun's illusion for a while before giving her own comments.

Is this a common occurrence?

"It's not common, but it's not rare either. All sorts of absurd things can happen in an illusion. Of course, the illusion always starts out in their ideal state. If they can't break free by then, a complete reversal will soon follow."

"I know some people will go insane because they can't take it. Do you see those disciples with sticks?"

Following the direction Yu Wanqing pointed, Lu An saw a dozen or so disciples wielding sticks weaving through the seemingly drowsy crowd, as if preparing to strike at any moment.

"What's that for?"

"To calm them down, many people go crazy after being pulled out of that illusion, and it's very difficult to soothe them on the spot. So our ancestor came up with the simplest solution..."

"They just knock him unconscious with sticks, then drag him out to be treated. Once the Spirit Healer Hall has treated him, he'll be almost done."

Before Yu Wanqing could finish speaking, an elder next to her tried to join the conversation, smiling as he continued to explain.

What will happen if they are saved?

“Once they’re saved, let them leave the sect and give them a severance payment. If there are any aftereffects, give them a larger amount.”

"What if they can't be saved?"

The elder thought for a moment and said, "Those who are dead should be buried directly. Those who are alive but have gone mad should be sent back to their hometowns. If they are rogue cultivators with no one to rely on, they should be placed in relief centers in big cities and left to their own devices."

Lu An was speechless: "Is it really that irresponsible?"

"What irresponsibility is there? They had already signed an agreement before they came to take our test. We have done more than enough to go this far."

The elder next to him took out a scroll, opened it, and said, "Look at this. It contains all the agreements they signed when they came in. We did everything legally and ethically, and we will win any lawsuit they file."

Lu An took the scroll and flipped through it, feeling speechless.

"If you suffer any injury during the test, you will be solely responsible for the consequences. If you do not agree, you are strictly prohibited from participating in the sect's entrance test."

Good heavens, there are actually such things? The cultivation world even has contracts to avoid responsibility, huh?

The Heavenly Demon Sect had never done anything like this before. Although a group of great demons were plotting some unspeakable things inside, such as thinking about how to put laxatives in the excrement of people they hated and then trick them into eating it to see if they would produce more excrement, they were still very friendly to the disciples who came to participate in the test.

Aside from a few unpleasant ones who would be dismembered and fed to the monsters, the others would be taken care of in terms of their daily lives.

According to them, there weren't many people willing to join the Demonic Path in the first place. If the welfare and humanistic care don't keep up, who will want to join the Demonic Path in the future? If no one is willing to join, what's the point of forming a sect?

Therefore, the Heavenly Demon Sect's sect tests try their best to avoid harming a person's body, including their mind.

However, Lu An never expected that the number one righteous sect would lag behind the Heavenly Demon Sect in terms of humanistic care.

"Although I know Elder Lu may feel that we lack humanistic care in this regard, there is nothing we can do. The employment environment in the cultivation world is not good now, there are just too many people. Besides, we are a major sect and have never lacked people."

Yu Wanqing said softly, "Elder Lu, it's not easy for so many people to find a sect they like these days, so even if these agreements aren't entirely reasonable, they will still accept them."

Now Lu An understood what was going on.

No wonder you all acted this way. It turns out the poor job market outside has given your sects the confidence to act with impunity.

"Our sect offers seven types of insurance and two types of funds, and all kinds of benefits are included, which is quite good. So there's a reason why many people are eager to join us."

"After all, there are many sects outside that don't offer insurance. They don't pay insurance during the probationary period either. If you become an elder, you'll only receive spirit stones."

The three continued their discussion for a while and quickly ended the topic. However, through this conversation, Lu An realized just how terrible the employment environment was for people working in sects outside the sect.

So, is cultivating immortality all so complicated now?

Lu An switched the person on the token and happened to click on Guo Fengyi's illusion. As soon as he entered, he saw Guo Fengyi sitting high on a throne in a grand hall, with someone kneeling beneath her.

Without a doubt, it was Xiao Yun, but when Lu An zoomed in, he noticed something was off.

The person kneeling on the ground was Xiao Yun, dressed in eunuch attire.

"Sect Master, I was wrong, please spare my life..."

"Little Yunzi, you're already a eunuch and you still won't behave. Looks like I'll have to send you to live with the dogs."

"Sect Master, please spare me! I'll never dare to do it again, there won't be a next time!"

"There's going to be a next time?! Someone, feed the dog some poison, then throw him in the dog cage!"

"Sect Master, I was wrong! I was wrong..."

Xiao Yun was dragged down by two people, and the screams faded into the distance. Guo Fengyi on the throne burst into laughter.

"Next... is... my beloved, how are you?"

"What brings you here, Madam?"

A graceful figure emerged from the pillar beside her, and Lu An glanced at it and found the figure somewhat familiar.

Then Lu An took a closer look and discovered who the person was.

"Lu Lang, I've missed you so much!"

Yes, that was him.

Holy crap, who is this? I don't know her at all, how did she come to be imagining things about me?

"Don't panic, Madam, I've been here all along!"

Chapter 213 Why is it me again?

Looking at himself in Guo Fengyi's dream, Lu An felt a mix of emotions he couldn't quite describe.

That graceful figure seemed to be surrounded by ethereal beauty, a quality I could never possess.

What's going on? How could this happen? How could he appear in a disciple's dream?

Could it be that they just happen to look alike?

Lu An watched the two embracing each other, so intimately intertwined, like dry wood meeting a raging fire. In Lu An's arms, Guo Fengyi looked like a delicate little lady, completely devoid of her previous queenly domineering aura and roguish charm.

Something's not right. When did I become her dream girl? Do I even know her?

Just as Lu An was filled with doubt, an embarrassing scene unfolded inside the token.

Guo Fengyi and Lu An were passionately kissing in the main hall.

Just then, several elders raised their heads, and Lu An felt their gazes converging on him.

Some people chuckled, some didn't understand, and some were puzzled, but all of this made Lu An feel extremely uncomfortable.

Yu Wanqing, who was standing next to her, also happened to be in Guo Fengyi's illusion. After seeing the scene, she frowned, glanced at Guo Fengyi with a dissatisfied look, and then looked at Lu An next to her.

Lu An turned his head and unexpectedly met her gaze. He could only give an awkward smile in response.

"Elder Lu, you've got some skills! You've already made a female disciple fall for you, and she hasn't even joined the sect yet."